


The Naked Time

by Thaliel (Alodia)



Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Action/Adventure, Based on the Star Trek Episode, Episode: s01e06 The Naked Time, Eventual Romance, F/M, Humor, Mild Spoilers, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-17 22:50:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10603920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alodia/pseuds/Thaliel
Summary: There is something strange afoot in the Tempest. People are acting strange ever since the crew returned from Voeld, and Sara needs to find out why, and she needs to do it fast. Before they all tear each other apart. Enlisting the help of the Charlatan, Ryder works against the clock to save her crew.Based on the Star Trek: The Original Series episode of the same name.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! Thank you so much for your kudos and support! I appreciate you all immensely. 
> 
> This fic is an idea which struck my yesterday and I had to write it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I!
> 
> You can follow me on tumblr at [alodia-thaliel](http://alodia-thaliel.tumblr.com/)

Voeld was cold. Like, _really_ cold. Ryder thought she knew what cold was, she had been to Canada back on Earth in the dead of winter. Camped in Banff national park with six inches of snow on the ground and stayed up all night listening for bears in the woods, but this was different. The wind here whipped faster than any on Earth, tearing through anything and everything they wore.

So they stayed in the Nomad as much as possible when visiting Voeld. The Nomad was warm, the Nomad was safe, even if the terrain was a little bumpy. They managed to make it through most of the planet without having to spend a lot of time out of some kind of shelter taking down Kett squadrons and rescuing the Moshae. Everything had been going reasonably well so far, until SAM announced that a research station nearby contained several dead bodies, and that he recommended scanning them for more information.

Vetra spoke up from the back seat, her teeth chattering only a little as she sat as close to the heating vent as possible, “Do we _have_ to scan the dead bodies?”

Drack grunted from next to her, “Chicken.”

Vetra grumbled, “I am not. I’m just averse to the cold.”

“No complaining,” Ryder interrupted them, cutting off Vetra’s protests, “We investigate. It could be Kett activity and we need to know if they are in the area.” Ryder didn’t want to leave the Nomad either, but she didn’t have to tell Vetra that. The last thing she wanted was more complaints. They _had_ to see if there were Kett stragglers active anywhere, especially this close to the Resistance.

Drack and Vetra watched her six as Ryder approached the station, scanning the area for Kett. There were a couple Initiative generators, but nothing too out of the ordinary. All seemed clear, against Ryder’s expectations. Any other time, she would have bet credits that this was the Kett’s doing.

“No Kett technology,” Ryder announced, putting away her scanner.

“Odd,” Vetra said, “How do we have dead bodies then?”

SAM piped up, “I can provide an analysis with more information.”

Drack laughed, “Helpful.”

Sara roller her eyes, sometimes, SAM was less than helpful. How many times could he tell her the same thing over and over? She got it, Voeld was cold, and murders or deaths required evidence. As if agreeing with her, a large gust of wind moved across the ice shelf they were on, and SAM noted _again_ that the temperature was falling.

Ryder ignored SAM, and opened the door of the station, gun at the ready.

She stepped in quickly and cleared the corners of the room, Drack and Vetra close behind her. The station was empty of life.

“All clear.” Ryder declared.

The trio holstered their guns and looked about.

“Brutal,” Vetra noted.

Drack grunted, “Looks like a Krogan came through here and tore everyone up.”

Ryder pulled out her scanner, sweeping it around the ship. “SAM, what do we got?’

 “Unknown, Pathfinder. It is like nothing we have dealt with before.”

Ryder stood still then, taking in the five dead bodies, one with a knife in its chest, one leaning over a console, looking terrified, and the remaining three all near one another, laying as if they had been fighting one another. It was by far the strangest thing she had found thus far. They were in Andromeda, a completely different galaxy, but everything there still followed a certain kind of pattern. Physics was the same everywhere, and life was always infinite and strange, but there was never anything quite like mysterious circumstances, especially when bodies were involved. 

“Maybe Suvi and Lexi can figure something out?” Vetra suggested, looking horrified and fascinated as she moved through the room.

“What?” Ryder asked, “Like this might be some kind of disease?”

Vetra shrugged, “That one over there,” she pointed to the corpse draped over the console, “makes me kind of wonder if maybe they were a couple inches short of a whole fringe. But those three?” She pointed at the group, “They seem to have killed each other, which doesn’t make sense. They’re all wearing the same thing, and there is no sign of a struggle other than the fact that they are all dead. It’s like they went from being on the same side to killing each other without any kind of escalation.” She glanced at the last body, “I won’t even get into how hard it would be for that guy to stab himself, but it almost looks like that is what he did. Something is up.” 

“Hmm,” Drack pondered, “It’s worth a shot.”

“SAM?” Ryder asked.

“Yes Pathfinder?” The AI responded.

“Collect what you can, I’ll collect tissue to bring back to the Tempest.”

“Yes, Pathfinder.” The AI complied.

Vetra leaned back against a counter and wiped at her face, then tore off her gloves and tried to rub her hands together. “Can we make it quick?”

Ryder scowled, but didn’t have the heart to keep it up. It was cold.

When they made it back on the ship, Suvi was delighted to have a sample to analyze, and Lexi was grimly determined to see if she could discover anything. The two women couldn’t have more different attitudes, but they clearly could work fast. The wasn’t thing Andromeda had thrown at them yet that they hadn’t figured out.

“If there is something to find, we will find it,” Lexi promised.

“Oh,” Suvi crooned, “This is exciting, we have a mystery!”

Lexi frowned, “People are dead Suvi.”

The science officer frowned, “Well, yes. But isn’t it amazing? Vetra’s idea that they experienced some kind of psychosis or disease? It could be anything. Space still contains infinite unknowns."

Lexi glanced at Ryder, then back at Suvi, then back to Ryder, “Make sure your ground team does a full contamination and comes to see me as soon as possible. Whatever it is, we don’t want to catch it.”

Then, the two walked away, debating the possibilities. Ryder let the two women duke it out as made their way to the research lab, and walked over to Kallo.

“Could you take us to Kadara?” She asked, standing at the helm.

“Kadara?” Kallo asked.

Ryder nodded, her eyes on the cold surface of Voeld. “If there is some kind of… disease or weapon or something at play here, someone on Kadara will know what it is.”

“You don’t thing Suvi and Lexi can figure it out?” Kallo asked.

“No,” Ryder said, “I do. But if there is a cure for it, I will bet we can get it on Kadara as well. If it’s contagious, I want to have something on hand to counter it. It would take them too long to synthesize a cure on their own.”

Kallo hummed, “Good thinking. I can only imagine all of us having to face down Drack.” He shuddered.

Ryder paled, and said, “Thanks Kallo,” quickly making her way to the back of the ship. They needed to get on decontamination STAT.


	2. Act 1

By the time Drack, Ryder, and Vetra all finished showering and decontaminating, they had docked and landed at Kadara Port. Suvi and Lexi had hardly moved from their samples, oohing and ahhing at whatever it was they had found. In the couple of hours Ryder had been gone, they had filled a couple of screens worth of data, and appeared to be using SAM for all he was worth.

Ryder tried to approach them as _loudly_ as she could, but when she said, “Any luck?” both of the women jumped and screamed.

“Ryder!” Suvi complained, “Don’t scare us like that.”

Ryder smiled, and Lexi grumbled, quiet instead of the admonishing Ryder would expect.

“What are you here for?” Lexi asked, ignoring the scare completely.

“I came to see if you had found anything,” Ryder replied, confused. “Is there something wrong?”

Suvi glanced at Lexi, “You alright?”

Lexi sighed and rolled her eyes. “Just fine.”  

“Alright…” Sara said, deciding to set aside the attitude for now. She moved in closer and looked down at their work station.

“What is it?”

Suvi made a noise which made it seem like she was excited, “We don’t know! But we’re working on it. Out best guess is something, maybe a fungus, got into their system and made everything go haywire. We’re not sure why, but it seems to have tricked the brain into releasing a bunch of hormones at once, causing drastic changes in bodily chemistry.”

Lexi looked at Suvi, and then at Ryder, her expression suddenly bland and dark, “Who cares?”

Ryder’s brows snapped together, “What?”

Lexi sighed, “Who cares what it is?”

Suvi sputtered, “But Lexi! You were so excited as you mounted the sample! What do you mean who cares?” The scientist’s accent deepened as she became agitated, looking at Lexi agape.

Ryder frowned, “Are you feeling alright Lexi?”

The Asari sighed. “It doesn’t matter, we’re all going to become space dust one day anyway. There is no use in learning, in _anything_. Who cares what made their brain turn into pudding or whatever. They’re lucky to be pudding. I wish I was pudding.”  

With her dire and confusing words, Lexi turned and ambled towards the cargo hold lift, her gait slow and careless.

Ryder looked at Suvi, “Is she ok? That was… odd.”

Wide eyed, Suvi shook her head. “I have no idea.”

Ryder glanced one more time at the way Lexi went, then followed, intending to find Vetra. Vetra knew everyone at the port, maybe one of her connections knew something or could help them in some way. The whole situation was just so out of the ordinary, Ryder didn’t know what to do except try to find someone who did know what to do. They didn’t cover this in Pathfinder training, or any training.  Not that anyone had trained Ryder, but still.

“Learn all you can,” the Pathfinder instructed Suvi, “We need to know what we’re dealing with.”

“Right,” she responded, turning back to the sample.

Seeing Lexi so despondent set Ryder on edge as she made her way into the cargo hold. It was unlike the doctor to be despondent, let along to not care about something medically related. Ryder moved to take the lift, but she had to stop at the door.

There was a keening sound slicing through the air, almost as if someone or something was dying, high pitched and terrible to listen to. And just underneath it, Ryder swore she could hear an argument happening.

Glanding about, she saw Vetra was against the rails of the upper deck, openly weeping as she looked down onto the main floor with the lift.

“Stop! Please!” She cried, her hands at her face and her sub-vocals fluctuating so wildly they almost hurt Ryder’s ears. The turian’s mandibles flicked and her eyes squeezed in her obvious distress. Ryder didn’t think she had seen Vetra upset before. Generally, the acquisitions expert got mad, not upset.

Immediately Ryder’s heart began to pound and she ran to the rails, expecting to find Kett or Roekaar on board and assaulting her crew. Visions danced in her head of Jaal, at the mercy of Kett and being prepared for exaltation, or of Gil being dragged by the hair towards the door in a kidnapping attempt.

When he reached the rail and looked down, she was not expecting to see Gil and Liam, both with their shirts off, circling one another sweat glistening off their bodies. Lexi stood to the side and looked on, bored.

“I will mess you up!” Gil declared, his voice loud and his shoulders tense as he watched Liam, oblivious to her entry.

Liam laughed and circled the engineer, his fists held up near his face, “You could try!”

Liam swung at Gil then, fists flying wild as he lunged. Gil ducked and then swung back, both of them appearing to miss each other by a mile. At least they weren’t doing any damage.

Vetra became more distressed by the minute, her voice getting louder and louder as she cried. “Stop! Stop I said! You’ll _kill_ one another!”

Confusion ran rampant through Ryder, and she couldn’t comprehend the scene in front of her. It was like nothing she had seen before. It was _bizarre_ and so out of character for all of them. Had they all gone mad?

Ryder turned and backed out quickly, going back into the research lab. There were no injuries, and as long as Vetra didn’t dehydrate, she could be left alone to her distress over the universe’s least eventful boxing match.

Suvi was still bent over her sample, so at least that was normal still. Walking as fast as she could, she made her way to Bio, looking for Cora. Liam and Gil were find for now, but Ryder wanted to get them apart and contained as soon as possible in the event their aim improved.

“Cora!” She shouted as she opened the door. “I need your help.”

There was nothing at first, Bio was dark and the only sound came from the lamps used to maintain the plants. Then Cora came from around a corner, her head held high with red labels placed in a pattern around her forehead and down her temples. She seemed to have donned a blue jumpsuit, and was moving very deliberately, like she was hundreds of years old and knew exactly what to do with her body.

“Who is Cora?” Cora asked.

Ryder stopped. “Uhhh…”

Cora’s nose went up a little higher, “Who are you?”

Ryder’s brow creased, “Sara. Sara Ryder. The Pathfinder?”

Cora’s eyes narrowed, “The Code is clear.”

“The… What?”

Cora’s nose went even _higher,_ “The Code is clear. If I follow the Code, I am just.”

Ryder stepped further into the room, “Cora.”

Cora did not hear her, “If I do not, I am unjust.”

Ryder stood there, thinking hard. “Right. SAM, what is going on.”

“I do not know. Please scan the affected crew members.”

Cora spoke again, “The Code is clear.”  

Ryder whipped out her scanner and scanned first Cora, then she ran out, leaving Cora behind to keep chanting. Ryder ran to the hold to scan Vetra, Gil, then Liam. Then she ran back to her quarters and stood near SAM’s link and waited, ignoring everything else in her haste to gather data. At least with what she saw as she moved, no one else was acting out of character. Yet.  

“What do we have, SAM?” Ryder asked, breathing deeply but evenly.

“Comparing these scans, to the scans of the bodies on Voeld, there is currently a 70% match in symptomology. I believe Dr. Anwar would be able to provide further insight. She should be analyzing test results now.” SAM intoned.

“Shit,” Ryder swore, “So we caught something?”

SAM replied, “It would seem so.”

“Shit shit shit.”

Ryder ran back out and up the ladder, making her way as quickly as possible to the Comms room. Quick action was required any time a contagion was involved. She hadn’t done all the training, but Ryder did possess common sense. Anything they had couldn’t make it off of the ship, no matter what. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t get some outside help. They were at port, so they weren’t completely stranded.

“SAM,” she shouted as she ran, “Lock down the ship. Make sure no one leaves.”

“Noted. Lockdown procedure beginning.”

All round her, Ryder could hear shutters closing the locks engaging. It was Ryder against whatever this was. She would figure it out and she would help her crew, with the help of SAM, and Suvi.

Rounding the corner up and into the Comms room, Ryder ran up to the console and hit a button, trying to connect with the one person whose help she could use. The only person she could trust in Kadara Port.

It took a moment, but soon the image of Reyes was standing across from her.

“Ryder,” he said, “This is a surprise. I had heard you landed.”

“We did,” Ryder affirmed, “But there has been a complication.”

Reye’s brows came together and he leaned forward, elbows against the table in front of him. “A complication?”

Ryder nodded, “A complication. I need you to ask around. We picked up something on Voeld. Some kind of disease maybe? It has my crew acting out of character.”

Standing straight again, Reyes became serious. “Out of character? That’s it?”

Blowing out a sigh, Ryder decided to use the most obvious example. It sounded stupid when she said it out loud like that, but something was happening, and she had to know what. “Vetra is sobbing, loudly, begging Gil and Liam not to kill one another.”

Reyes looked confused, “ _Are_ they going to kill each other?”

Ryder pondered that for less than a second, “No.”

“Hm. Strange indeed. I will ask around. You said you think you picked it up on Voeld? No other symptoms?”

“Yes, we investigated what seemed like a murder or… something on Voeld. We brought samples back onto the ship and then flew here. Couldn’t have been more than a couple of hours before things started happening. No other symptoms. Whatever it is, it moves fast and we can’t let it get off of the ship. If all of Kadara port were to become infected…” Ryder trailed off, imagining the negative consequences. “It would kill the port. And everyone inside.”

His body tense, Reyes already looked ready to go. “Anything else I need to know?”

“No.”

“Good,” he said, “This is all horrible enough. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

Ryder sighed with relief. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The Charlatan’s image disappeared.

Ryder took in a deep breath, then made her way back down the ramp, slower this time, thinking. It must have something to do with those bodies, nothing else made sense.

“Suvi!” she called, looking for a head of red hair.

“Ryder!” Suvi called from inside the Tech Lab.

Ryder made her way over, finding Suvi and Jaal consulting. “Are we making progress?”

Suvi looked up at Jaal and then back at Ryder, "Well, we're doing everything that's possible."

"Suvi, I want the impossible checked out, too."

She nodded, “I do have some ideas. It’s why I am in here. I figured, Jaal is Angaran and knows Voeld pretty well, maybe he knows something.”

Jaal crossed his arms and inclined his head, “Indeed. There is no known disease of this kind among my people, but that does not mean it doesn’t exist.”

Suvi nodded, “Right! They could be immune. Whatever it is, I have SAM running some tests, and in the mean time I came to ask Jaal for a blood sample. Might come in handy for some kind of cure.”

Opening her mouth, Ryder went to ask more questions when SAM came over the channel, “Pathfinder, Gil and Liam have started to regain their aim. Someone will need to separate them.”

“Shit,” Ryder swore. “Are you two ok?”

Jaal and Suvi nodded.

“Ok, good. Keep working!”

They nodded again as Ryder made her way out the door and back to the cargo bay.

“What is going on SAM?” She asked.

“Unknown, Pathfinder.” SAM said.

 


	3. Act 2

Ryder ran back into the cargo hold, breathing hard and scanning the area. Never before had she missed her jump jets so badly, she would never skip cardio again. Lexi was always admonishing her for neglecting it, and now she was paying the price.  

Vetra was still near the railings on the upper deck, wailing even louder than before, mandibles flaring and subvocals fluctuating. She had collapsed to the ground since Ryder had last seen her, however. The turian was clutching at the rails and dramatically reaching one hand through them and then down, seemingly pleading with Gil and Liam. Begging them. Even her visor was flashing multitudes of colors in her distress. 

"Stop! Please!" She cried, her fingers reaching out and stretching, as if she could snatch them up herself from the upper deck.  

SAM's robotic voice came in over their private channel, "She appears to be losing strength, Pathfinder."  

"Losing strength?"  

Ryder eyed her closely, Vetra didn't seem weak, with all the noise she was making, but then again, she was laying on the ground.  

"Yes, I will alert Dr. Anwar. She may need medical attention." SAM said.  

Sara took in a deep breath and rolled her eyes at the dramatics. It couldn't hurt to check, but it couldn't be that bad, could it? Vetra was very distraught, but she wasn't actually _wounded_.  

Putting that aside for now, Ryder looked down into the bay. Liam and Gil's aim was improving, but they were still a long way off from truly hurting one another. Their fists were wizzing two inches away from one another, as opposed to the six inches they were working with before.  

Bracing herself, Ryder hit the button for the lift and went down and into the makeshift arena. Cora was... Whatever she was, so Ryder would have to go about it alone.  

Two steps into the hold, and suddenly everything shook. A loud metal rattling filled the air as the Tempest seemed to power on and then off again, on and then off again.  

"What the--"  

Ryder tried to walk further into the hold but again the ground seemed to shake and a screeching filled the air and hurt her ears. Vetra noticibly ramped up her wailing, but Liam and Gil seemed oblivious to the distraction. When the lights were on, Ryder could still see them swinging at one another, feet circling and chests heaving. It was like a stop motion movie the way the lights were acting up. Frame by frame they moved in slow motion combat. Both were sweating profusely and stumbling, but totally focused on one another.  

"Your big mistake is that you weren't born an Englishman!" Liam claimed, his voice booming over the metallic shaking.  

"Hah! As if!" Gil lunged and swung wide, almost, but not quite, hitting Liam's shoulder.  

"SAM?" Ryder called, taking slow and careful steps towards her crewmen, eyeing the ground for obstacles in the inconsistent lighting.  

"There appears to be a malfunction with the drive core, causing power surges and brownouts," SAM stated. "Mr. Brodie appears to have begun maintenance on the core, but not completed the task. This has destabilized the core and is causing it to malfunction."  

"Can you page Kallo?" She asked, taking another step.  

"I will attempt."  

"Keep me posted!" Ryder desperately hoped Kallo was still in his right mind.  

The shaking subsided for a brief moment, the lights flickering on and staying on, and Ryder took the opportunity to step closer to the pair, waving her arms.  

"Guys!" She called.  

Gil blinked at her, "Pathfinder! Ryder!"  

Liam waved his arms in a sweeping arc, "Join us!"  

Sara blinked. "Excuse me?"  

"Join us!" Liam repeated, "We're having a _bit_ of fun over here, boxing. Taking the edge off."  

Gil waved his fists at Liam, bouncing on his feet, "Speaking of, I will show you!"  

He lunged and swung, missing again. Liam danced away and hopped over to Lexi, who was still standing at the sidelines, looking bored. 

"I shall protect you, fair maiden!" He cried, sweeping her up into his arms and dipping her back.  

Impressively, Lexi's arms remained cross and she frowned up at Liam. "Sorry, neither."  

She let loose a small biotic shockwave and Liam let go of her, scrubbing at his nose. "That was not nice."  

Lexi sniffed.  

Before Ryder could ask Liam to return to his room, where she could lock him in, the Tempest began to shake and whine again. Ryder wheeled her arms to keep her balance, as did Lexi, but Gil and Liam missed their chance and went toppling to the floor, crying out.  

"Shit!" Sara swore, going to Liam. "I am so sorry about this."  

Liam looked up at her, "Ryder! Fight me!"  

Vetra wailed from her balcony spot, "No! Pathfinder!" She sobbed, "They'll kill you!"  

Sara rolled her eyes and said, "Sorry!" Once more before shoving Liam, sliding him along the floor as he tried to convince her to fight him.  

As soon as she had him contained in his room at the back of the bay, she shouted, "SAM! Lock the door!"  

"Yes, Pathfinder."  

Ryder heard the lock click closed. One down.   

"Ryder! No! Gil, stop!" Vetra wailed.  

Whirling around, Ryder was confronted with Gil's face, contorted with rage, his fists coming at her.  

Ryder's own hands raised up on their own, but before Gil made contact, the ship shook again. Where was Kallo?  

Ryder sidestepped Gil and called out, "SAM! Where is Kallo?"  

"Unknown."  

"Great!" She shouted, frustrated beyond belief. Was she the only sane person on the ship?  

Gil swung again as Vetra sobbed, and Ryder feigned to the left, dodging the fist.  

"Screw you, Ryder!" He shouted.  

"Screw me?" She said, "What for?"  

"For--" he paused, "For something!"  

Shit, Gil was going mad.  

Ryder dodged again, and realized quickly that Gil was not going to stop. The engineer lunged forward, his right fist pulled back and ready to strike.  

Stepping into his open side, Ryder winced and stuck home, driving one fist into his stomach.  

Immediately Gil bent over, moaning, and Vetra's wailing stopped.  

"So sorry Gil," Ryder panted. She slung one of his arms over her shoulders as he moaned, and dragged him to Vetra's space.  

"SAM, lock him in," Ryder said, pushing the sweaty man into the room.  

Gil stumbled in, and the door closed and locked behind him.  

Ryder sighed and placed her hands on her knees, breathing deep. She tried to catch her breath, but before she could, the ship rumbled again.  

"SAM?" Ryder called.  

"Kallo has not reported to the drive core. I suggest finding him."  

"Great," she moaned. 

Ryder walked out of the cargo hold, and into the lower walkway, looking for Kallo. She glanced at Lexi and Vetra as she went, but determined they did not need containing. Lexi was still leaning against a crate, arms crossed and face bored, and Vetra was on the ground curled into a ball. It probably wasn't comfortable, but she wasn't crying and that was enough for now.  

When the doors opened, the first thing Ryder heard was a crash from the galley.  

"Oh no," she breathed, imagining the worst. Drack, infected with... whatever this was.  

Sara took a deep breath and moved closer to the galley, preparing herself. When she hit the button to open the door, she tilted her head to the side and tried to process it.  

Drack was turning in a circle, trying to get at something on his back, and when his back made it's way to facing her, she tried not to laugh, and failed.  

Clinging desperately to Drack's back, was Kallo.  

"Drack, you have to help me, please!" Kallo said.  

Drack tried to reach around and pull Kallo off of him, "I said no!"  

"But I am the Pathfinder!" Kallo yelled, "You have to help me!"  

"Like hell," Drack grumbled.  

Confused, Ryder asked, "Pathfinder?"  

Kallo's head moved around to her, "Yes?"  

Drack huffed, "He came in here five minutes ago spouting off this nonsense. What is going on Ryder?"  

Sara shrugged, "It's going around the ship."  

"Damn," Drack said, "How many?"  

"Six counting Kallo. Lexi, Vetra, Gil, Cora, and Liam I've handled already."  

Drack kept turning, trying to get at the salarian clinging to him, "What did you do?"  

"Locked them into rooms," Ryder said simply.  

"That I can get behind," Drack said.  

Suddenly, he found the grip he was looking for and pulled, dragging Kallo off of his back and then flinging him into the bench seating. Ryder's eyes went wide, but Drack ignored her expression, grabbed her shoulder, and they both went flying out of the room, the door closing behind them.  

"Locking the door," SAM intoned.  

"And that solves Kallo," Drack said, matter of fact.  

"Yes it does," Ryder said, pleased Drack was right of mind.  

"Pathfinder," SAM spoke up again, "The drive core."  

"Shit!"  

"What? What is wrong with the drive core." Drack asked.  

"I have the ship locked down, because whatever this is _can't_ get into the port."  

Drack nodded, "And the drive core?"  

"Gil is already down for the count, so I was hoping Kallo could fix it. It's unstable right now."  

"The lights," he noted. "And the noises."  

Ryder nodded. 

"Well, shit. Where is Suvi? Jaal even?"  

Ryder snapped her fingers and pointed at the Krogan, "Good thinking! They are in research. I came looking for Kallo, but given his current state... We need to find someone else. Suvi is working on a cure, maybe she has that and Gil or Kallo can fix it themselves. If not, then... Well, Suvi will have to multitask."  

Drack grunted, "Let's go."  

They both made their way to the ladders, when SAM interrupted.  

"Pathfinder, you have a new email from Mr. Vidal."  

Drack looked at her, "Vidal? Really?"  

"Well who else could I ask for help? I have him asking around, trying to see if anyone knows what this stuff is." Ryder sighed, "You go find Suvi and Jaal, update them, I have to check this. Hopefully he found something."  

Drack grunted and went up the ladder, waving at Ryder as he lumbered away. Sara entered her quarters and beelined for her computer. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for whatever the email would say. Could be every angaran knew what this was and there was no cure. Or it could be some new weapon for which there was no cure. Or maybe there was a cure and all they needed was a shot or something.  

Ryder was hoping for the latter. 

 

One more breath, and she opened the email.  

 _Ryder,_  

 _Hope you're still alive. And not going crazy. It would be inconvenient if I had to find a new dance partner._  

 _I asked around, and came up with nothing so far. I am going to consult with Nakamoto, if it's something shady, like a weapon or disease_ _, he should_ _know about it._  

 _Stay safe, don't die._  

 _Reyes._  

 

Ryder snorted. _Don't die._ Right.  

She sighed, propping a hand on her hip as she read the message one more time. At least he was working on a solution. Hopefully, Suvi would beat him to the punch, but at this rate, soon the entire crew will be losing their heads, and then the Tempest would be doomed.  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much as always for your support! <3


	4. Act 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for the comments, kudos, and support!

_Don't die. Don't die. Don't die._

Reye's words echoed through Ryder's brain as she made her way to research, hoping desperately that Drack and Suvi and Jaal had come up with... anything. Really anything at this point would be better than what they were currently facing.

"Pathfinder," SAM spoke up, but before he could finish, the ship began to shake again, the lights flickering and the metallic rumbling so loud she couldn't hear anything else.

"Shit!" Ryder yelled.

_Don't die, don't die, don't die!_

She climbed the ladder to the walkway as fast as she could, "SAM?"

"The drive core is malfunctioning."

"I already know that!" Ryder yelled, frustrated.

"Continued neglect will cause the drive core to explode."

" _What_?" Ryder sprinted towards research.

"The drive core is growing increasingly unstable. Further neglect will exacerbate the problem, causing the core to meltdown, then explode."

Ryder huffed, but continued towards research, her eyes peeled and moving carefully in the shifting light.

She stopped when she noticed some writing on the walls halfway down the walkway.

"What the--"

On the walls, painted in red, were the words, _THE CODE IS JUST._

"Cora," Ryder assumed.

"Security cameras show Ms. Harper passing through here five minutes ago." SAM confirmed, barely audible over the screeching and shaking.

"Great," she murmured, taking it in quickly before finishing her journey into research, shouting, "Suvi?"

"Over here!" Ryder heard.

Rounding the corner into Jaal's space, ignoring another _THE CODE IS JUST_ written over the doors to the bay, she found the two still together, bent over a microscope. The alarm shut off again, leaving Ryder's ears ringing.

"Good, you're here," Suvi said.

"Ryder," Jaal greeted.

Drack grunted from near the door, standing guard.

"Any ideas?" Ryder asked.

"We think so!" Suvi was nearly bouncing. "We tried infecting some of Jaal's blood with the virus, and it didn't take! Whatever it is, the Angara are immune to it. Working off of that, I have SAM processing how the virus works and why the Angaran are immune. From there, we should be able to synthesize a cure for it."

"Thank goodness," Ryder sighed.

"I am happy to help how I can," Jaal explained. "I had not considered the biological risks of taking you onto Voeld. We will need to be more careful in the future. There are perhaps many diseases my people have grown an immunity for which yours have not."

Suvi nearly jumped, "This is so exciting! We had considered the possibility before leaving, but actually encountering it is a whole other thing!"

Ryder nodded. "Ok, that is one thing down then. Keep working Suvi."

Ryder turned to leave, but stopped when Jaal spoke up.

"Er, Ryder, about the drive core."

Ryder spun, she had nearly forgotten.

"I mean to ask," she said, "Do you think you could take a look at it? Wish Suvi so close to a possible cure I don't want to take her away from here."

Jaal nodded, "Anything  I can do to help."

"Right," Ryder thought for a moment. She needed the drive core repaired, Suvi to continue work, and for the rest of the crew to stay quarantined as much as possible. Hopefully, sometime during all of this Reyes could show up with a vaccine or some knowledge that would help Suvi. Any vaccine would likely only be suitable for angaran physiology, but Suvi would maybe use it's composition and adapt it for humans.

Decided, she doled out orders.

"Drack."

The krogan grunted. "Ryder."

"Stay here, guard Suvi."

He nodded, "Can do."

"Jaal, you're with me, we're going to look at the drive core and see if we can't repair it."

Jaal nodded, "Understood."

"Everyone stay safe," Ryder met the eyes of everyone in the room, "We need to repair the ship, and we need to do it soon. Suvi, try to get us a cure so we can have our engineers back. If you have any problems, radio me."

The group nodded.

Ryder turned to leave, Jaal following behind and Suvi wishing them well. Drack just watched, his big body already moving to block the doorway and keep anyone from disturbing the doctor.

On their way into the hold, Ryder's comms buzzed with an incoming call. She quickly accepted it.

"Sara," Reyes' voice came over their private comm channel, slightly strained.

"Reyes?" She asked, not expecting to hear from him so soon. 

"Thank fuck," he breathed. "I got word that all kinds of alarms were coming from the Tempest and that the whole ship was shaking. I thought for sure something had gone wrong."

"Well..." Ryder said, walking quickly towards the drive core, Jaal keeping pace beside her. "It's not exactly wrong _yet_..."

"What? What is wrong?" Reyes asked, increasingly alarmed.

"It's the drive core," she quickly explained, "Gil was in the middle of doing some work on it when he got sick... He left it there, and somehow whatever he was doing destabilized the core, so the core may or may not explode."

SAM, so helpful, spoke up, "The core will explode if not stabilized, Pathfinder."

" _What_?" Reyes nearly shouted, "I am heading over there. I will see you in twenty minutes."

"Reyes, no!" Ryder was nearly shouting too. She and Jaal passed more of Cora's graffiti as they walked into the engine room. Vetra was absent from her post, which Ryder filed away for now. "I can't let you on board, this can't get into the port." She waved Jaal over to the engine, which was glowing an alarm shade of orange. "Look, I have to go. I will come find you when all of this is over."

"Ry--"

She disconnected and concentrated on Jaal. She couldn't fix this situation and assure Reyes at the same time. Now was the time to be Pathfinder, not Sara. Just looking at the drive confirmed that. It did not look as it usually did, with it's steady blue glow and pulsing, instead is shuttered irratically and threw the whole room into an eerie light that set her teeth on edge. This didn't look good, at all.

"What do we have Jaal?"

He hummed. "This is not good. Gil left the drive's protective shielding down to adjust a part. This is fine while the engine is idling while landed, and for small periods of time. I have seen him do it before."

"Right," Ryder said, nodding.

"He left the shielding down, and it appears he was configuring part of the inner drive before he left. I will need to identify the part and attempt to return it to it's rightful place, and then restore the shielding."

"Can you do it?" She pressed.

Jaal shook his head, "I am not trained, nor am I well versed in the workings of this drive, but I will try. There is no other choice."

Sighing, Ryder confirmed, "You're right. SAM should be able to help, at least."

"I will assist Jaal," SAM confirmed, coming in over the channel in the engine room.

"Can I leave you here, lock the doors?" Ryder asked, eyeing Jaal closely. "I still need to find Cora, Peebee, and Vetra."

The angara glanced at her from the dashboard, "It's fine, go. I will let you know if I come across any challenges."

"Thanks!" Ryder called heading back out into the bay. "SAM, lock the doors.

"Yes, Pathfinder," SAM complied, the doors clicking behind her as she went back out into the bay.

Somehow, the light had been half turned off, so the entire bay was thrown into low light, each shadow seeming longer and deeper than the rest. Listening hard, Ryder tried to discern if she could hear any of Vetra's sobbing. There was nothing outside of the strange noises the drive was now making.

She headed over to the lift and took it down to the main floor, intending to search the area for anyone else who might be sick.

Slowly, she worked her way through as much of the hold as she could reach, searching behind crates and through storage cages until she heard a loud banging coming from the back of the room.

"SAM?" Ryder asked.

"It appears there is someone at the door," SAM intoned.

Ryder snorted, "Helpful."

"Ship sensors indicate that it is a human male, approximately 25 to 35 years old." SAM supplied.

"Better, thank you," Ryder gave in.

She made her way over to the hatch and put her ear to the ground. She could hear the banging louder now, but couldn't make out any voices.

Her comms buzzed again, and at the same time she heard from the back of the room a booming voice.

" _THE CODE IS JUST."_

Ryder stood fast, "What? Cora! No!"

Cora stood by the control panel for the hatch, and pressed in a code before hitting a button. She seemed sluggish, moving slower than she normally would, breathing hard with sweat pouring down her face.

The hatch opened slowly, lighting up the room with afternoon light, and Ryder hollered, "SAM!"

"Cora has used your father's code on the door, overriding my commands."

"Well override her commands!" She demanded, running to where Cora was standing.

Cora was advancing towards the hatch, her eyes fixed on the opening, "The Code is just."

"It will take a moment," SAM informed her.

"Shit," Ryder said, heading towards Cora.

"The Code is Just," Cora repeated, her hands at her sides as she prepared to fight whatever it was on the other side of the hatch. Her steps were slow but sure, and her gaze was steady despite the beads of sweat moving down her temples.

"Sara!" Ryder heard from behind her.

 _Shit,_ she thought, _Reyes_.

Cora's eyes seemed to flash, "The Code is just! If I follow the code, _I_ am just!"

Ryder ran, heading for a collision course with Cora, "Stay back Reyes!"

Cora glanced at her, and then yelled as her hands raised and her biotics glowed around her. Lifting her hands up, she pulled Ryder into the air as if she weighed nothing, and threw her across the room into some boxes. Cora was moving slower than normal, but Ryder had not expected her to attack her, and was unprepared when she landed with a _thud._

"Oof!" Ryder's breath left her in a whoosh as she landed.

"Ryder!" Reyes called.

Cora screamed, "The Code is just!" And lunged at Reyes, almost stumbling, her biotics flaring again.

Reyes had just enough time to dodge to the left, rolling. His brows drew together as he took in first Cora then Sara.

"Pathfinder," SAM called, "I have overridden Ms. Harper's orders. Should I close the hatch?"

"Yes!" Ryder nearly screamed as she scrambled out of the mess of boxes, heading straight into the fray.

Cora turned to face Reyes again, ignoring the hatch closing as she concentrated on her target. Her hands glowed blue again and suddenly she pulled, yanking Reyes close and then placing a hand around his throat.

"The Code is just," she snarled into his face, sweat rolling down her forehead.

"Cora! No!" Sara called, her own biotics flaring as she pushed out, knocking Cora off her feet. The huntress was too concentrated on her target to compensate, too weak from the illness, and she went flying, losing her grip on Reyes.

The woman cried out, getting to her feet again as Reyes fell over to his knees, coughing.

Sara moved fast, following up with her own pull, drawing Cora in close, and then saying, "Sorry!" Very quickly before punching her square in the jaw.

Cora slumped to the ground, breathing deep.

The hatch closed and the space went back to dim lighting.

Ryder let out a breath, then made her way to Reyes, who appeared to be breathing hard and sweating. He wiped a forearm at his forehead and looked up, "Ryder."

"Reyes, Maker, why are you here?" She asked. "I told you I couldn't let you in."

He frowned, "Sara. You told me your ship was going to explode."

"So?" She asked.

He smiled, "Stubborn. I think you forget, I am a man of many talents. I can take a look at the drive, see what I can do."

Rolling her eyes, she extended a hand, "Let's go Mr. Talented, we need to get Cora quarantined, and then we can talk."

Together, they each grabbed one of Cora's arms and dragged her towards the med bay. Once there, they lay her on the floor and then locked her in. SAM confirming that the ship was once again actually locked down, and that Sara’s father’s codes were deactivated aboard the ship.

"Now," Ryder dusted her hands off and faced Reyes, "I need you to get off the ship."

Reyes stumbled back, his hand over his heart, his eyes wide and his face stricken, "What do you mean _mi amor?_ "

Ryder stopped, frowning. "What?" I told you, this is contagious, it can’t get out into the port. I will have SAM scan you to make sure you are clean, and then I need you to go.”  

He seemed to consider what she had to say, thinking for a moment, his golden eyes molten and his mind clearly turning. Then, so clearly she could see it in his eyes, his mind seemed to skip a gear an then drew to a halt. His lids closed halfway and he smiled at her slowly.

“ _Reyes_ ,” Sara implored, “You need to listen to me. You’re more practical than this, come on. I can’t have you going down with us, if the drive does explode.”

Reyes stepped into her, his hands stealing around her back and his head lowering, covering her mouth with his as his tongue danced upon her lips. Quick as that, Sara's mind shut down as she melted into him, her eyes fluttering closed until he pulled back and looked deep into her eyes.

"I'm in love with you, Sara Ryder. You, the Human Pathfinder Ryder, the Woman Ryder," he said, with conviction. "Do not send me away."

Sara blinked up at him, confused, "Reyes, you can't..."

"Shh," he cooed, "No talking," before kissing her again.

Ryder's mind fogged then, filling with images of Reyes and her together. Building a house on Kadara, having children together, exploring the universe together.

She melted anew, kissing Reyes back.


	5. Act 4

"Ryder!" SAM called, Ryder did not respond.  

Instead, she and Reyes were laying on her bed, fully clothed, and mooning. Reyes's golden eyes were sparkling and Ryder was _lost_ _lost_ _lost_ in his eyes _._ Any other time, Ryder would have been horrified to be just laying there, acting all vulnerable for such an extended period of time. Reyes would hardly ever allow himself this much down time, not when there was so much work on Kadara to do. When he did allow himself down time, he wouldn't spent it _just_ staring into her eyes _._   

"Ryder," SAM called again, "Jaal is requesting your presence at the drive core. He is in need of assistance installing the part Mr. Brodie had failed to."  

Ryder sighed and blinked up at Reyes, still mooning, SAM's words barely even registering. Every part of Reyes was just perfect, every inch of hair on his head, every freckle, every piece and part. How was it that a man so notorious for his shady dealings and underhanded way of going about things could be so beautiful and so kind, in his own way? He had straight up cheated and killed someone in front of her, and Ryder didn't lose any sleep over it. Sloane was _terrible,_ and Reyes was just so... Dreamy.  

"Ryder, I apologize for any pain this may cause." SAM stated matter of factly, and Ryder again said nothing. Distantly, she thought it was odd SAM was apologizing, but who cared what SAM was doing when _Reyes_ was right there? 

"Stimulating implant, mild shock, 1 half second," SAM announced.  

Half a second later, Ryder was flying off the bed, yelping, "SAM! What was that?" 

"Physical stimulation to your implant in order to elicit a physical reaction as auditory reminders were proving ineffective."  

Grumbling, Ryder rubber her neck, and looked at Reyes. He was looking up at her, alarm on his face and his eyes wide. No more mooning.  

"Are you ok?" He asked, rushing to his feet. His hands went to either side of her face and he stared deep into her eyes.  

"I'm fine, Reyes," Ryder assured him, smiling.  

"Ah, Querida," Reyes cooed, his head dipping to place kisses along her neck, "Come back to bed."  

Ryder sighed, leaning in, "Reyes..."  

" _Querida_ , please," Reyes said, lifting one of Ryder's arms and kissing down the length, "It has been too long since I last gazed at your eyes." He kissed a little further down her arm. "Too long since we last danced. Too long since we last spent a night lying in each other's arms." He made his way down to the back of her hand and kissed it firmly, holding it as if it were the holy grail.  

It was brain meltingly sweet, and quickly Ryder could feel the dreamy haze falling over her again. Kisses from Reyes were what she _lived_ for. 

"Stimulating implant, mild shock, 1 half second," SAM announced again.  

Yelping, Ryder turned and glared at where SAM's link was sitting and glowing quietly on her desk. "That was not cool, SAM."  

"Jaal needs you at the drive core urgently. Continued neglect to the core will cause an explosion in approximately 12 minutes." SAM reminded her.  

"Shit," Ryder said, pulling away from Reyes. She felt so hot under her clothes, and she could feel the sweat pulling at her temples. All the wanted to do was go lay on the bed again and stare at Reyes, the urge was so strong it took everything she had to push it aside. SAM was right, she needed to go help Jaal at the drive core.  

Ryder took one step, then another, away from Reyes, ignoring when he gasped and exclaimed, " _Querida_ _!"_  

She made it as far as the door when Reyes grabbed her arm and turned her, leaning down to look into her eyes and pull her close again.  

"Please, do not leave me. I cannot live even a single moment without you!" He begged, draping Ryder over his arm and then leaning into her, clutching one of her hands to his chest.  

Ryder felt her skin grow hot again, and she gave in, leaning the way Reyes was guiding her and fluttering her lashes up at him. It was the most natural thing in the world. How could she even think of leaving his side? They were destined to be together, every minute of every day, it was the way things were meant to be.  

"Never lose you. Never." Reyes said, his voice filled with conviction and falling deeper than it had been before.  

"Oh Reyes," Ryder sighed, placing her hands on his shoulders and stepping in close. "I love you." She sighed. 

Reyes smiled, "And I you, _Querida_ _."_  

* * *

 

 

> **_Peebee_ **

Peebee, in all her time in the universe, had never spent her days in such an interesting fashion before. Filled with adventure, wonder, and new discoveries, it was easy to be happy aboard the Tempest. 

 _Technically_ speaking she was staying in the same place (in the escape pod room) but if the whole Tempest was moving, was she really staying in the same place?  

She didn't think so.  

Today, however, Peebee had spent her time first napping in the escape pod, and then after waking up, working on POC. Not the adventure she had grown used to in recent months, but still plenty of fun. The previous night she had stayed up halfway through the long night shift, and she had plans to do the same tonight. She was on the verge of a breakthrough with POC, she could feel it. Hopefully it would be something she could use on ZAP as well.  

"Hmm..." She thought, tapping her chin. There was something _off_ going on with her tools. Nothing had as much power as they seemed to normally, but the lights were still on in her room, so she figured there had to be something wrong with them. Besides, Kallo wouldn't let the ship run at anything other than top performance.  

"Maybe... Nah." She muttered, gazing intently at her multimeter.  

"Peebee," SAM said, voice crackling to life suddenly in her room.  

" _Ahh_!" Peebee jumped, her hands flying and landing all akimbo.  

"I apologize for startling you," he said flatly, "We are in need of assistance."  

"We?" She asked.  

"Indeed," the AI confirmed, "The entirety of the crew has caught a personality altering virus, you and Jaal are the only two people left unaffected. Jaal is tending to the drive core, but he needs assistance in restoring the core to full functionality."  

"Well that explains somethings," Peebee muttered, glancing at her tools. 

"While you were sleeping, the ship lost power completely twice due to a destabilization in the core, and it will combust if not remedied in 11 minutes and 30 seconds." SAM said.  

"What!?" Peebee screeched, running to the door. "Why didn't you tell me before?"  

"Ryder was assisting, however she has been incapacitated by the disease, as has Suvi, Gil, Liam, Drack, Reyes--"  

"Reyes is here?" Peebee asked, "How much did I miss while I slept?"  

The bridge was empty when she passed through it, and she barely glanced at Cora's graffiti as she ran towards research.   

"You are a heavy sleeper," SAM noted. "Please stop in the research tech lab to collect a cure for the virus from Suvi's station."  

"She made a cure?" Peebee asked, veering to the navpoint SAM had pinged to her.  

"She was able to synthesize one shortly before becoming infected herself."  

Peebee opened the door, and stopped in her tracks.  

Drack was just inside the small room which made up tech lab, and he was singing, his hand over his heart and his mouth open wide, music playing gently from his omni tool as he belted out an old human opera. Strange choice, but it was fabulous.  

He was a baritone, who knew?  

Lexi was in a corner, arms crossed and looking disinterested, but Suvi was on the floor, fully engaged in Drack's performance. She swayed with the music and smiled wide, not a care of worry in the world as she listened.  Peebee herself wanted to stop and listen, it was hauntingly beautiful as he sang Don Giovanni, his eyes filled with emotion as he sang.  

 _"_ _Se neghi a me di dar qualche ristoro."_ He took a short breath and then reached even farther, _"Davanti agli occhi tuoi morir vogl'io!"_  

Drack was singing the original Italian, reaching his arms out as if to grasp at his lover, his eyes desperate and searching for his loved one.  

"Bravo!" Suvi called as Drack lilted, "Bravo!"  

"Peebee," SAM called, "You must hurry."  

"Right!" She jumped, grabbing the syringe Suvi must have left on the counter, then she turned and ran towards the drive core.  

"How much time?" She asked SAM.  

"Seven minutes and forty two seconds."  

"Shit!" She rounded the corner out into research, and then into the cargo bay, running along on the upper deck, jumping as she heard something dreadful coming from behind a crate.  

"I can't find them!" Vetra wailed, laying on the ground and looking up at Peebee, her mandibles moving erratically as she approached. "They are _dead_ I just know it!"  

Peebee frowned, "Vetra? Who's dead?"  

The turian looked up at her, "Gil and Liam! It was dreadful! They got into a terrible fight!"  

Before the asari could ask any further, the lights dimmed, and then went out completely, red emergency lights popping on as the entire ship began to rumble and shake.  

"Peebee," SAM warned again, "Five and one half minutes."  

"Fuck!" She nearly screamed, making the rest of her way down the walkway and barging in, ignoring Vetra as she continued to wail. "Give me the skinny Jaal!"  

Jaal was clearly relieved to see his purple friend, "This part." He held out something small in his three fingered hand, "It needs installed in the drive core, if you scan the core, you will be able to see it. I am too broad to be able to do it myself."  

"Right," Peebee clapped her hands, "Time to save the Tempest and her crew." She tossed the syringe at Jaal, "Hold this. It's a cure for... Whatever is going around. We'll need it."  

Jaal fumbled but did catch the syringe. "Hurry!" His voice was obviously distressed. As if SAM would let Peebee forget that the entire ship and the lives inside hinged on her ability to install this part.  

No pressure.  

She could barely hear Jaal over the _screeching_ coming from the drive core, but she heard enough to know what she needs to do. Peebee took the part from his other hand and then ran at the core, her scanner out and working.  

Vaulting the railing and moving around the giant sphere, she could see a patch of shielding around the core which had been disabled towards the bottom half of the globe, and just beyond it a hatch which had been opened. Jaal followed closely behind her, and nodded at Peebee when she pointed at the opening.  

An orange patch was highlighted on her scanner, and quickly she found the place where the new part needed to be installed. It was small, and located deep inside the ODSY drive.  

Dropping to her knees, Peebee fit her slim shoulders into the hole and reached towards the center of the drive as it shook violently. Everything was making noises around her, alarms going off and a warming signal blaring from the tempest as well as individual parts, the drive itself protesting, and distantly, the sounds of Vetra's wailing.  

With her head inside the drive, it was defenangly loud as it shook and protested, the vibrations so powerful as it tried to keep stable that it was almost too hard to even keep her eyes open. It kept getting worse as the seconds ticked on.  

SAM helpfully displayed the time left on her scanner. Four minutes.  

The part which needed installed was small, and her scanner told her it was some kind of stabilizing regulator. She reached both of her arms out, the stabilizer in one hand and her omni tool lit in the other, ready to solder the piece onto the drive.  

 _Three minutes._  

Peebee extended the part, sliding it along the surface until she felt it settle into a small depression in the metal.  

 _Two minutes._  

The drive core began to feel hot, shaking even louder as everything started to turn orange around her, emergency lights firing and systems starting to fail. She turned on her omni tool and for the first time in a while she _prayed_ to the Goddess.  

 _One minute._  

Peebee kept her omnitool firing, and when SAM flashed ' _Complete'_ on her scanner, Peebee flung herself out of the core and shouted, "SAM! The shielding!"  

The shielding around the drive core slammed down to seal the drive, and for one second everything turned off, and all she could see was the glow of the shielding, and then like nothing was ever wrong, the noises stopped, the lights came on, and the Tempest was again stable.  

Peebee sighed, leaning back on her hands and throwing her head back, looking up at Jaal, who had rounded the drive core and looked terrified.  

"So..." Peebee asked. "How good are you with needles?"  

Jaal threw back his head and laughed.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys as always for the comments and kudos! I love getting them and they totally make my day.
> 
> There is an epilogue coming, but that it all fluff. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it!


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